







INDIAN EDUCATION 


AND ITS ADMINISTRATORS 


SPECIAL REPORT 


SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS WORKSHOP 


1957 


UNITED STATES 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS 
BRANCH OF EDUCATION 


UNITED STATES 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 



Fred A. Seaton, Secretary 


BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS 
Glenn L« Emmons, Commissioner 


BRANCH OF EDUCATION 
Hildegard Thompson, Chief 


Interior, Haskell Press, Lawrence, Kansas 


Addresses Before 


the General Sessions 


Hildegard Thompson, Chief, Branch of Education 

W. Wade Head, Area Director, Gallup Area 

Solon G. Ayers, Superintendent, Haskell Institute 

Almira D. Franchville, Assistant Chief, Branch of Education 

Louise C. Wiberg, Area Director of Schools, Portland Area 

Henry A. Wall, Director of Schools, Navajo Agency 

Dorothy G. Ellis, Coordinator, Field Technical Section 



Area Director speaks to workshop members 


























Foreword 


Co^ 


Key school administrators of the Branch of Education, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, met in workshop sessions at Intermountain 
School, Brigham City, Utah, June 3 - 14# 1957* The purpose of the 
conference was to explore ways to raise the education level of 
educationally handicapped Indian people* Tribal representatives 
participated with the school administrators in this conference* 

The addresses presented in this volume were delivered 
in general sessions by Bureau administrators. Each Area Director 
who could not attend wrote a message to be read to the workshop 
members* Excerpts from those messages are included in this volume. 

Other volumes of the workshop report are: 

A Summary Report 

Indian Youth Today and Tomorrow 

Addresses by Tribal Representatives 

Basic Needs of Indian People 

Papers prepared by 50 School Administrators 

Indian Youth Look at Basic Needs of Indians 
Papers written by 178 Haskell Institute 
Commercial Students 










The Role of the School Administrator in the School Program 

Hildegard Thompson, Chief, Branch of Education 


My assignment this morning is to give you my ideas about 
the role of the administrator in the school program. Before I get 
down to my task I would like to digress for a moment to talk about 
the nature of ideas. First, may I say that none of my ideas are 
strictly original. If I should stop to try to trace their family 
tree, no doubt I*d find many of them based in family, in school, 
in church, and in community experiences. If I think back, I sus¬ 
pect I*d find that parents, neighbors, teachers, authors I f ve read, 
friends and associates carried the candles from which many of these 
ideas drew their first spark of life and although they may bear 
faint family resemblances, I could not possibly identify their 
parenthood. Over the past twenty years, you yourselves have con¬ 
tributed much to n$r storehouse of ideas, because what I f ve learned 
about Indian education I*ve learned from the Indian people I f ve 
known and my associates in the Bureau. That places all of you in 
an untenable spot. If you take a dim view of what I know about 
Indian education, I can point my finger at you and say M You are to 
blame - you were my teachers.” 

Regardless of the origin either recent or remote, the 
ideas that I will now express have become a part of my thinking and 
my experience. I have worked them over and made them mine - but 
strangely enough once I give expression to them I can no longer lay 
full claim to them. In some way or another you will work them over - 
either by rejecting them, discarding, challenging, modifying or ac¬ 
cepting and developing them. Then they are yours; and so the process 
goes, and where it stops nobody knows. Ideas are powerful if we let 
them set off chain reactions that finally result in constructive 
action. I would hope that ideas of each individual in this group will 
set off just such reactions; that they will spark new ideas in the 
creative minds of members of this group, with the result that each 
of us will depart from this experience intellectually refreshed and 
stimulated, more competent, and more secure in our knowledge of what 
we are trying to accomplish. The purpose of this group experience is 
to give each of us an opportunity to sharpen our thinking and improve 
our administrative skills through interaction with the thinking of 
others, and as a result to become more able individuals. In addition 
to the opportunity for self-improvement I would hope - and I offer 
this as a challenge - that out of this experience there would be pro¬ 
duced a reservoir of thought of such quality that its impact will 



give added momentum to the advancement of Indian people - advance¬ 
ment toward a way of life in the fabulous future as secure, as rich, 
and as meaningful as their traditional way of life has been. I hope 
that the tribal representatives who are here working with us will 
keep our thinking straight so that the work of this workshop will 
be practical and useful and will be helpful to you and to the Indian 
people with whom you work. 

If we are to derive that kind of profit from this experi¬ 
ence, and I f m sure we will, we must have a sincere respect for the 
ideas of the other person. We must be willing to examine and explore 
rather than sit in judgment over the ideas of others. Ideas ex¬ 
plored, evaluated, developed, and put into carefully planned action 
are powerful. 

Now I come to the topic - the role of the administrator 
in the school program. Naturally we are thinking about school ad¬ 
ministrators in the Bureau and Bureau school programs - but for a 
moment let us consider the topic on somewhat broader terms. Let us 
think of all school administrators everywhere, and all school pro¬ 
grams. Let us also include in our consideration of school adminis¬ 
trators all who operate and evaluate educational programs. What kind 
of people do we find in the field of school administration? I T ve 
tried to categorize them into a few broad categories. 

My first category is the Incompetent. They are usually 
the administrators who are honest but limited. They are the piddlers 
and dawdlers. They never can get anything accomplished because they 
are unable to distinguish between the trivial and the important. 

They never delegate responsibility, because they don f t know what to 
delegate and what to do themselves. Consequently, they handle each 
detail as it arises, and their staff sits back and waits for instruc¬ 
tion. Usually they get into administration by a mistake, or through 
favoritism. They were mistakenly promoted from a more limited job, 
and even though they find themselves in an area of broader responsi¬ 
bility they continue to perform only at their former restricted level. 
This type of administrator does nothing for education. Usually he 
gets the school program in such a predicament that it falls to pieces 
unless he is replaced, or moved on, or unless somebody else carries 
his load. 


My second category is the ”Patter-on-the-back” type. They 
are the showmen. They get places on the basis of personality alone 
or they clown their way through. They have unlimited stores of af¬ 
fability and charm that can be turned on at the slightest excuse. 

If they are men they are usually ”God»s gift to women.” If they are 
women - well, you give them a name. In their minds the sole quali¬ 
fication of a good administrator is a person who can get along well 


2 


with people. Consequently, they sincerely try to live up to that 
standard. They work hard at being all things to all people - a good 
fellow. They never come to grips with a problem if it means facing 
an unpleasant situation, or if it puts them in a position of detract¬ 
ing from their popularity. Either they ignore it if they can, or 
skirt it if possible, or they cleverly slip it on to the shoulder of 
some subordinate and then make him think they are doing him a favor 
by giving it to him. They often condone mediocrity in the self-interest 
of being well-liked - and they usually are well-liked. 

In my third category, I have put the Career Seekers. Their 
primary interest is self-advancement, and often they will go to great 
lengths to put themselves forward. They play office politics. They 
will climb to the top over their friends. Usually their employees 
find them hard to work with, but their supervisors find them just the 
opposite. They are clever at detecting opportunities of playing one 
co-worker against another - if they figure they can make it add to 
their prestige. They will subvert principles in the interest of their 
own advancement. They are the boss’ **Yes men”. Their approach to 
any situation is first to think what the boss is likely to want, and 
then adjust program and principle regardless of what it does to the 
education of children. That saves them from the chore of doing any 
real thinking for themselves. A long-range goal means nothing to them. 
Their goal is expediency regardless of where it leads. Unfortunately 
many of them do get ahead but they do nothing to put education ahead. 

My fourth category is the Solid Thinkers. They are the 
"Salt-of-the-Earth** type. They can distinguish between the important 
and trivial and put first things first. They keep their eyes on 
long-range goals, and they are alert to all moves that would detour 
or move education in wrong directions and away from established goals. 
They face their problems realistically and their judgments are 
grounded on facts and principles. Consequently, what they say to the 
boss is not always what he would hope to hear, but he can depend upon 
the depth of their judgment and the soundness of their thinking. 

He knows they do not jump to conclusions, and the advice they give 
is based upon careful deliberation. They are willing to make com¬ 
promises, providing they do not set aside important goals or compro¬ 
mise sound principles. They can organize and plan and evaluate and 
keep programs moving forward in a coordinated way. They understand 
the proper relationships of their program to other related programs 
and to the public. They understand their relationship to the organi¬ 
zational scheme under which they must operate. They are respected by 
their employees on the basis of their fairness, and integrity - not 
solely on the basis of friendship. They have the skill of bringing 
out the best in each employee, and keeping all employees pulling to¬ 
gether as a team. You can depend on them to move education consist¬ 
ently forward even though, in addition to their own load, they may 


3 


have to carry the dead weight of the Incompetents in their organiza¬ 
tion, and a good part of the weight of the Charmers, and the Career 
Builders. 


All of us, of course, belong in this last category - or at 
least someone thought we should belong there. 

Now that I’ve labeled us with the f, 3alt-of-the-Earth M label, 
I must describe our role. 

Our primary role is one of influence. It is the role of 
the administrator: 

First - to influence Indian people in such a way that they 
will become self-propelled toward higher and higher 
goals. 

Second - to influence superiors and supervisors in the 

development of sound policies and programs that will 
further Indian advancement. 

Third - to direct employees through the technique of 
influence in carrying out programs that result in 
Indian advancement. 

Fourth - to influence public thinking toward deeper under¬ 
standings of the problems and roadblocks Indians 
face in moving forward. 

In my opinion, if we are to have lasting influence, here are 
some of the important qualifications we should have: 

1. We should have vision. We should be able to keep our 
eyes lifted toward the stars. While attending to the 
immediate we should be able to keep in our sights long- 
range goals. 

2. We should be knowledgeable. We should have a thorough 
grounding in the principles upon which sound education 
in this country rests. Out of our knowledge we should 
be able to develop, or assist in the development of 
plans and programs that lead consistently toward long- 
range goals. 

3. We should have insight - to see and weigh the far- 
reaching implications of proposed actions. 


4 


4* We should be flexible enough to operate within de¬ 
fined boundaries, and adjust when the boundaries 
are redescribed for us by our superiors, or co¬ 
workers, or Indian people* 

5* We should have a deep understanding of personali¬ 
ties that differ from us - we should not expect to 
mold others into our own image, 

6* Lastly, and above all, we should have courage - 

a* Courage to face up to problems regardless of 
their difficulty* 

b* Courage to point out pitfalls in actions or pro¬ 
grams that stray from long-range objectives or 
subvert basic principles* 

c* Courage to point up poor performance when it 
exists, 

I intended to describe an administrator as a person who 
is able and human* Now as I finish, I wonder if I have begun to 
approach the divine* Maybe I f ve set standards too high. If so, you 
set the standards you know we can reach keeping in mind the job we 
have to do which is to help Indian people bridge the gaps so that 
they may live fully now and in the fabulous future. 


5 


The Future of Indian Education 


W. Wade Head, Area Director, Gallup Area 


I would like to start out with the proposition that Indian 
young people are not spending their time looking back over their 
shoulders, and that we had better not, either, if we don’t want to . 
be left behind. 

Let me turn that around. 

The most rapid changes in the history of mankind are going 
on around us. After centuries in preparation, we are witnessing the 
coming to fruit of the revolution of machines, technical skills, and 
industrial management. We have passed the threshold of a tremendous 
new forward movement in the development of atomic energy. Where the 
world of atomic energy will take us in the next few decades is beyond 
nry imagination to attempt to describe, much less to forecast. 

The technical and cultural gap between the life of fifty 
years ago, and that of today’s most advanced science is much greater 
than between the culture of the most primitive Indian group in the 
Southwest and our everyday life of this generation. Compare today’s 
2,000 mile-an-hour supersonic airplane with the great technical ad¬ 
vance of 1907, the mass-produced Tin Lizzie, and you will see what 
I mean. 


Progress has carried all of us along. The Indian people 
started farther back, both in their way of doing things and in their 
aspirations, but they too have moved along down the common path. 
Today, their pace of movement is as swift as our own, but from a 
slower start. 

Preparation for this future we are moving into is an im¬ 
perative need. We who are concerned with Indian education must step 
along with the times, or fail our responsibilities. 

Specifically, we must assist these young people to be ready 
for the kinds of further training necessary to meet the new age. If 
we don’t, others will be picking off the plums. As an example, our 
mathematics and science teaching must meet every test - it must be 
second to none. 

In other years, part of our trouble has been lack of faith 
in Indian young people. Let me cite an example. 


6 



We have one of the best commercial schools in the country 
at Haskell, but in the past nearly all graduates have gone to the 
Bureau for employment as a matter of policy - because "They were not 
ready for outside competition!" This for some of the finest young 
people you will find anywhereI 

I am impatient with this kind of thinking. Indian young 
people, with the proper kind of preparation, will average out with 
other youngsters. They will find their levels of ability and aspira¬ 
tion just as do other young people. We can be confident that some 
of them will reach the heights of achievement. 

There is a new wind blowing across these reservations. 
Indian young people, too, are looking forward. 

Listen to Rose Benally, a liberal arts junior at the Uni¬ 
versity of New Mexico, speaking to a group of her peers at the New 
Mexico Annual Indian Youth Council: 

"Life is pretty much a routine directed toward some 
more or less worthy first issue; and opportunities to 
raise our imaginations above the dike that surrounds us - 
dikes of habit, repression, fear of the unknown, prejudices 
or ignorance - are rare except in those who dare to ex¬ 
perience. Here, as patterns and meanings of life have be¬ 
come evident to you, we may also make our pattern of life 
in our own way.” 

Directly to this point, are the remarks at the same meeting 
of Mabel Quintana, a freshman in the University of New Mexico School 
of Nursing: 


”One of the best ways to achieve our goal in life is 
to have a good start at the beginning of our school career... 
To be successful, the youth of today must make careful 

preperation.The idea of Indian youth graduating from 

high school and going to college is becoming part of our 
community thinking. 

“Think about your goal and work toward it. We have to 
learn to think for ourselves and figure out what will help 
our future. There are four cornerstones of success. First 
is character, which we begin to build when we are little 
children and which begins to grow and develop with our minds 
and bodies. 

"Second is initiative, which means the willingness to 
work on our own and without having anyone to watch over us. 


7 




Most failures could enjoy success if they were only willing 
to pay the price. But hard work alone is not enough. We 
need to find out what we are best fitted for and work 
toward that. 

"Third is mastering our goals. We must thoroughly 
understand the work we are about to undertake and we must 
not give up. Whether we realize it or not, we are building 
a foundation on which our life structure will stand. Each 
good habit we acquire though life is our base and security. 

"Fourth is purpose. The purpose we have in achieving 
our goals is something no one can take away from us. We 
must be determined to face every obstacle that confronts 
us, and we must have faith in ourselves. If anyone truly 
wants something, no obstacle is too great. We must not 
merely wish for these qualities. We must learn our weak¬ 
nesses and try to overcome them so we will know what to do 
in important cases. In youth, we do not think much of 
money, but eventually we must face the future, and believe 
me, it is not easy. 

"The world changes every day, and it is not enough 
for us students to merely accept it. We must prepare for 
the changes of the future and for the betterment of our 
people’s welfare.” 

Finally, let me offer a few words spoken by Frederick Young 
of the College of Engineering, University of New Mexico: 

"The destiny of the Indian devolves upon the actions 
of the many high school and college students and their tribal 
leaders. The development of highly skilled logical reason¬ 
ing is one of the factors that should contribute to solu¬ 
tion of the crucial problem of cultural change. This logical 
reasoning is one of the most valuable tools of any profes¬ 
sion. 


"Since it is important that some Indian students should 
study science, I mention some of the essential requirements. 
These include natural aptitude, enthusiasm, perserverence, 
patience, and particularly the ability to practice rigorous 
thinking, to think for oneself. The value of clear thinking 
is important not only in science, it is America’s most power¬ 
ful weapon against armed aggression; and most important, 
it is the safeguard against the downfall of the great Western 
Civilization. Furthermore, one should not be subject entirely 


8 


to the machinery of external discipline - examinations, etc. 

- but should direct his attention more to creative thinking 
and logical reasoning, which constitutes inner discipline.” 

These are the words of young people who have caught a vision 
of the tremendous age in which we live, and of the even more awesome 
future. These are the words of people confident in their own powers. 

Our programs must fit their mood and their needs. 

Our challenge is to provide the soil to nurture and strengthen 
this spirit of self-confidence, this truly American view of the future - 
the oyster served on a platter ready to be opened by strong and self- 
confident youth. 


9 


Less Than Half of Haskell Graduates Enter Government Service 


Solon G. Ayers, Superintendent, Haskell Institute 


After Mr. Head made his comments yesterday about the number 
of Haskell graduates who enter government service, several persons 
asked me about the matter. I was so interested in Mr. Head’s speech 
at the time that I thought very little about his remarks about Haskell. 
I was especially pleased with the following statements: "Indian 

people should not spend time looking back over their shoulder. 

There is a new wind blowing across the reservation." 

4 

Mr. Head and I have discussed the Haskell placement subject, 
and we agree that Haskell graduates can compete favorably with other 
workers - because they have been doing so for many years. The only 
question is whether too many enter government service. I should like 
to clarify a few points which have been raised by various persons. 

The record shows that Haskell vocational graduates have had 
a 100$ placement record for the past several years. The average 
starting salary is $3,100 per year and most of the graduates receive 
substantial promotions from time to time. In order to maintain a 
100$ placement record, we use all avenues of placement both in gov¬ 
ernment service and in private industry. 

It should be noted that less than one-half of Haskell gradu¬ 
ates enter government service. Only 43$ of the 117 graduates in the 
1956 class accepted government employment. Like anyone else these 
graduates take the best job that they can get. If a student is offered 
one job at $3*000 and another at $ 3 * 300 , he will naturally choose the 
latter» if other conditions are equal. What would members of this 
group do under the same circumstances? It is very obvious what we did. 
One hundred per cent of us entered government service and no doubt all 
of us thought we were choosing the best job available at the time. 

Most of our graduates are offered more than one job and some 
receive as many as five offers from government and business sources. 

If we prevail upon them to work for private industry, the government 
would have to recruit non-Indians for the positions that they decline. 
We advise students about employment opportunities but allow them to 
make the choice. I may not agree with the choice, but like Voltair, 

I will defend unto death their right to make it. 

We don’t think that 43$ is too many to enter government 
service. Apparently, you don’t either because you keep asking for 
Haskell graduates and that is just what we want you to do. 


10 




Overview of Bureau Schools 


Almira D. Franchville, Assistant Chief, Branch of Education 


When I began to organize my discussion I realized that it 
wouldn’t be cricket to discuss only the good qualities of the schools 1 
program, that every program has weaknesses and strengths and some 
"in betweens" and that a true overview would include all three. I 
also realized that we could give the field personnel all the credit 
for the praiseworthy qualities of the programs but we couldn’t place 
all the responsibility for the weaknesses at their doorstep since we 
are all in this program together, personnel at all levels, school, 
agency, area, and Central Office. All have responsibility. Weak¬ 
nesses in school programs may indicate weaknesses in the Bureau over¬ 
all education program - when schools are criticized adversely such 
criticisms include Central Office operations as well. Field suc¬ 
cesses and accomplishments are also Central Office accomplishments - 
even though we would prefer to give field personnel the lion’s share 
of credit for them, a part of the credit will inevitably come to the 
Central Office. We make up the Bureau’s educational team. 

As recently as the middle 40’s the relationship between 
the Branch of Education in the Central Office to education personnel 
in the field was one of line authority. Since then the relationship 
has changed and Central Office personnel has responsibility, in a 
staff capacity, for the development and interpretation of policy, 
long-range planning, technical supervision, in-service training, 
evaluation and research. Line authority is centered at the area, 
agency, or school levels. Unfortunately the Central Office is located 
many miles from the programs which the Bureau operates in the field. 

The tie-up between the Central Office and the field isn’t as close as 
it once was and undoubtedly there are times when field personnel feel 
that the Central Office people know little or nothing about what is 
going on in the field; that reports are only hastily read or not read 
at all. I’m going to try to show that verbal reports are not only 
listened to but considered; that written reports are not only read but 
studied. And the reports bring your accomplishments, your successes, 
your problems, your disappointments, and your frustrations close to 
us and, to the extent that it is possible, we try to give you credit 
and praise for your accomplishments and help with your problems. 

I am not sure you have thought about the many ways in which 
we receive information about what is going on in the field. Therefore, 
I should like to list them briefly: 

Written Reports 

Evaluation 

Area Monthly 

Educational Specialists 

Census 

Special 


11 




Verbal Reports 


Tribal Delegations 
Visitors 

Personnel of other Branches 

Congressmen 

Salesmen 


Letters 

Field Personnel 
Congressional 

Nongovernment organizations 
Individuals 

Memoranda 


School Publications 

Papers 

Manuals or handbooks for employees and students 
Annuals 


Newspaper Items 
Magazine Articles 

Telegrams 


Whether we know it or not, whether or not we like it, each 
school is constantly being appraised, and, by many people. There’s 
the type of appraisal which, for want of a better term, we might think 
of as "First-impression or off-the-cuff appraisal,” the kind of ap¬ 
praisal that takes place in the mind of an individual as he drives 
around the campus, spends a night or other brief period at a school, 
or takes the 50£ tour through the buildings. His impression may be 
favorable or poor. The information he passes on may be helpful or 
harmful, correct or incorrect, but each individual evaluates in terms 
of his own interests and experiences. The health official may view 
the program in terms of health practices, facilities for caring for 
ill students, the cooperation he receives, etc. Parents may see it 
from the friendliness of the reception they receive when they visit, 
the kind of educational program they had experienced, the kind of care 
their children receive, the food they are served; the maintenance man 
may evaluate it from the excellent care a building receives or the 
number of window panes he has to replace, or the number of times he 
has to unstop the sewer. Townspeople may think of it as an asset or 
otherwise, based on the students’ behavior when they come to town, the 
quality of work they perform when employed, or whether the athletic 
teams, the Indian dance programs, the glee club, or the band make a 


12 









worthwhile contribution to the life of the community. The Area Director, 
missionaries, visitors, both foreign and local, and a host of others 
all have criteria by which they decide whether the school is good or 
better or "not so good*” 

The other type of evaluation we might call grass-roots evalu¬ 
ation - the kind of appraisal that takes place when technically quali¬ 
fied educators, Bureau or State or County or other, individually or 
as teams, delve into the total school operation - the school program 
and how it is being carried out, the attitudes that are being developed, 
the morale of the staff and students, the work of various committees, 
the in-service training provided for the staff, and many other criteria. 

And so it is, and I think this is the place to say, "Lo, the 
poor administrator." He is expected to operate a school or a group 
of schools that meet the criteria of both the professional and lay 
evaluators. 


The administrator knows, meanwhile, that he can’t please 
every individual or every group in the local area but he must live 
with and have good working relationships with these individuals and 
groups and he cannot completely ignore their opinions and suggestions. 
In fact he welcomes their suggestions and tries, insofar as possible, 
to conduct a program that will be compatible with their ideas and at 
the same time conform to Bureau policies, and meet the criteria agreed 
upon by top educators and such organizations as N.E.A., AASA, the U.S. 
Office of Education and the like. He needs their help and advice, 
and the good administrator seeks their assistance. 

Perhaps we might consider what I am now going to do the 
preparation of our Report Card. It will be a colorful report card. 

The markings for our report cards are divided into three 
categories and here a psychological approach will be violated in that 
we shall list first 

1. Our weaknesses. This will leave the best till last. 

2. Areas in which we have made marked progress. 

3* Noteworthy accomplishments. 

The weaknesses I shall mention do not exist in all areas, 
neither do they exist in only one area. There are probably others but 
it would not be possible to mention all of them. They are weaknesses . 
that are common to many schools. They are not presented in a spirit 
of blame or adverse criticism because some of them can be remedied only 
through an increase in funds or the work of another Branch. On the 
other hand, some conditions can be improved through better organiza¬ 
tion, better supervision, or just planning for “first things first." 


13 



Please bear in mind that we are all in this together - we are a team - 
a big team. Central Office, Area, Agency, and School personnel, and 
we would not have an overview if we considered only the good things. 
So, here they are and please remember they are not ^yours.** They 
are ,, ours. M They are presented in a spirit of objectivity and as 
areas to which we need to give considerable thought. 

Weaknesses 


Staff and community representatives not sufficiently used 
in program planning. 

Standards of performance not established for positions 
other than teacher positions. 

Home economics classes not offered for boys. Home 
mechanics not offered for girls. 

Insufficient emphasis on development of communication 
skills in middle and high school grades. 

Time of professional staff used to perform clerical duties, 
supervise or do janitorial duties, perform services other than 
those shown on their job sheets. Some of these are unavoidable. 
Our job is to see how we can decrease the time so spent. 

Not enough up-to-date library books, magazines, and news¬ 
papers provided for students. Old, obsolete books not removed 
from libraries and classrooms. 

Adequate facilities not provided for students to take care 
of their personal clothing. 

Failure to provide sufficient follow-up on initial orienta¬ 
tion and in-service training of staff. 

Insufficient night coverage in dormitories. Inadequate 
guard coverage. 

Information gained through follow-up of students inade¬ 
quately used to strengthen the curriculum. 

Too little emphasis placed on strengthening school*s 
holding power. 

Failure to make the best use of available manpower. 

Areas in which there has been marked progress 

Initial orientation and in-service training of personnel. 

Yearly revision of and adjustments in curricula. 


14 




Securing better daily attendance. 

Meeting the standards for students* meals. 

Use of menus to promote food education and improve 
eating habits. 

Decreasing sales of carbonated beverages to students. 

Securing and maintaining accurate census records. 

Improving the appearance and functional qualities of 
classrooms. 

Securing appropriate equipment and machinery for carry¬ 
ing out programs - academic, vocational, and guidance. 

Developing good public relations. 

Preventing encroachment of other activities on the 
instructional time of students and staff. 

Accreditation of schools. 

Adherence to manual criteria for admission of students 
to Bureau Schools. 

Getting students ready for transfer to public school 
programs• 

Keeping staff informed on policy and program matters. 

Placement and follow-up of students in schools with 
special programs. 

Providing financial assistance for students who wish to 
extend their education beyond the high school - scholarships, 
grants, etc. 

Testing program. 

Noteworthy Accomplishments 

To let you know that reports are studied, that we do under¬ 
stand your problems, and that we are very much aware of some of the 
excellent work that is going on, I have listed a few of the activities 
from various Areas which have been brought to our attention through 
reports, field trips and so on. I can*t list them all; I wish I 
could. Some Areas and some educational specialists provide us with 


15 



more informative reports than others. I may not have selected those 
activities which the staff of that Area think are most outstanding. 
Possibly we do not even know about the most outstanding accomplish¬ 
ments and, much to our regret, we receive only limited information 
about the small schools and we know that many good things are going 
on in them, too. 

An active PTA or other similar organization at every day 
school. A three-member education committee of the Tribal Council 
takes an important part in school and community activities. 

School has a very effective public relations program. 

School provides home mechanics courses for girls and home 
economics courses for boys. 

Agency has developed a special program for exceptional chil¬ 
dren. A school has developed a program which provides special help 
for children who have speech, sight, and hearing defects. 

One agency has made considerable progress in development of 
Standards of Performance for all education positions. 

Thirty-six teachers from 25 isolated villages participated 
in a sanitation workshop to develop ways to improve sanitation 
practices in the village. 

At one school employees volunteered to train 25 boys for 
position of camp counselor when unexpected opportunities became 
available to them. 

Central Office, Area, Agency, and local personnel have 
participated in a curriculum workshop in each of the past three years. 

A new bookmobile which serviced all the villages and schools 
of one agency made available to children and adults more than 200 
books, 121 film strips, and 50 phonograph records on a rotating basis. 

On the campus of one school the staff of a nearby college 
conducted an in-service training program for guidance personnel dur¬ 
ing the school year. 

Through a conservation project carried out by one school 
under the supervision of Land Operations 50,000 trees have been 
planted. 


During the past year several schools were admitted to the 
Regional Associations of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Another 
school was voted into the Interscholastic Association for the first 
time. 


16 


A large day school had an outstanding attendance record of 
97$ for the year. 

An exchange program of one school made it possible for 180 
students to visit the homes of non-Indian students, and for the non- 
Indian students to visit the Indian students. Received award from 
Freedom Foundation -for bringing about better understanding among 
groups. 


The papers of two schools have received national recogni¬ 
tion during the last school year. 

Characteristics of a Good School 

The characteristics listed on this chart have been used by 
some organizations as criteria to evaluate schools. Do you think we 
could use the same criteria? 

The characteristics of a good school are: 

Program 

The program is based on increasing understanding of the 
child, the discovered needs, interests, and abilities of the 
child and recognition of the requirements of competent demo¬ 
cratic citizenship in the world. The program improves the 
quality of community living. 

Personnel and Plant 


Provides for personal and professional growth of qualified 
staff. The plant, equipment, and materials further the program 
for children and community. 

Planning 

Planning is continuous and cooperative. 


17 






” Our Instructional Program - How It Can Be Improved 1 1 


Louise C. Wiberg, Area Director of Schools, Portland Area 


We are happy to have this opportunity to review workshop 
proceedings to acquaint the Educational Specialists with what we have 
been doing, and giving them some background for the next two days* 
work. 


The Educational Specialists have joint responsibilities on 
the teams of which we are all members. It is to them that we look for 
help in curriculum, for assistance in further training of a teacher; 
they are builders of morale and instruments of communication. They 
aid us in the selection and use of classroom materials. They teach 
new techniques. This group had a workshop in January for sharpening 
their skills; we hope ours have been sharpened similarly. 

We have talked this week about the nature of ideas. We have 
taken a good look at present policies and programs and we have learned 
how some ideas have been translated into action. Mrs. Thompson told 
us early in the session that ideas set off chain reactions. When ex¬ 
pressed, they no longer were ours. Instead, they belonged to those 
who heard and developed them. In one of our sessions she learned how 
one of her ideas expressed years ago had developed into the Navajo 
scholarship program. 

We have spent time in appraisal of our instructional pro¬ 
gram. In it we have found things we think good. Some others are 
not so good. All of us believe our program can be improved. 

People in our instructional program are our most important 
resource and the key person in each school situation is the adminis¬ 
trator. Mrs. Thompson’s categories have been reviewed and I think 
we are in agreement that, on the whole. Bureau school administrators 
are a highly dedicated group who do creative thinking, who delegate 
authority and then follow up. I say this at the risk of falling into 
Mr. Head’s ’’apple-polishing” category. 

The average educational level of minority groups, including 
Indians, is said to be the 5th grade. The average for the population 
as a whole is the 10th grade. Thus, even by hastening the instruc¬ 
tional improvement process, we have a long way to go. 

We have read and heard a great deal in this workshop about 
the complexity of our world and how schools are under obligation to 
be involved. Schools must adjust to far-reaching changes and there 


18 




probably never was a more favorable time for improving our instruc¬ 
tional program. This responsibility falls on all school personnel 
but heaviest on teachers. 

In the Bureau,therefore, we need to attract the best quali¬ 
fied teachers we can find. To do this we must have better recruitment 
programs which will include personal interviews at colleges and also 
at various points in the field to meet prospective candidates who have 
come from public school positions and who qualified through examina¬ 
tion. We should not overlook the new Federal Service Employee Entrance 
Register and we might give consideration to a teacher pool such as 
that used on the Navajo. 

We need to pay better salaries and, we might add, promotional 
steps within the grade so that those who wish to remain in the teaching 
field will not after a few years come to a financial dead-end. Many 
positions should be upgraded to make them comparable to salaries paid 
in various good public school systems with a differential arrangement 
for those who work in isolation. But with higher salaries, we also 
must have higher standards for teachers. 

Teachers should be relieved of clerical and janitor work. 
Adequate and more attractive housing should be provided, with the best 
quarters located in isolated areas. 

Mrs. Franchville emphasized the importance of giving new 
teachers orientation and help with techniques. Further help and guid¬ 
ance should be provided through frequent classroom visits, informal 
talks with teachers, making accessible pertinent professional mate¬ 
rials, demonstration teaching, and review of new texts. 

Children are the raw material with which we work and we 
therefore must constantly evaluate and revise curricula in terms of 
their needs. Much follow-up of students is desirable. 

Because of limited facility in English, language arts must 
be emphasized to a greater degree. We now do quite a good job of 
this in primary grades, one not quite so good in the elementary 
grades, and poorest in the upper grades. We must further emphasize 
proper work habits, respect for law, civic responsibility, and the 
use of leisure time and its carry-over value. 

Preschool programs for Indian children, especially in public 
school areas, would help the child make the transition from Federal 
to public schools. 

An extended school year might be advisable, especially in 
areas affected by seasonal labor. Summer youth camps and supervised 
tours are desirable as instructional aids. 


19 


Greater stress should be placed on guidance. Although it 
is a service which requires personnel with special knowledge and 
skills, this program should have the cooperation of other employees 
who should be taught some guidance techniques. 

Schools can provide experiences in public relations and 
we have a heavy responsibility in this. As Dr. Beggs puts it, 
’’Everything we do at school constitutes public relations.” On one 
reservation Indian and non-Indian children exchange home visits. 

State education people often are included in recreational events on 
this reservation. Newspaper and radio publicity can be helpful in 
getting things across to the public. 

Schools can develop confidence in the individual. They 
can instill pride in accomplishment of good things. They can moti¬ 
vate and stimulate children to go out and seek jobs, not merely to 
accept jobs others find for them. 

Each State has responsibility to all of its citizens and 
this, of course, includes Indians. Bureau policy is to facilitate 
transfer of Indian children from Federal to public schools as soon 
as there is mutual readiness and as soon as practicable. This process 
may involve many problems, especially if Indians have been pressured 
into quick decisions. 

Mutual readiness should be a guide line if transfer is to 
succeed. In some areas no serious problems arise due to a practiced 
approach to integration-in which people have developed right atti¬ 
tudes and built friendships over a long period. Familiarity with 
State programs, becoming acquainted with State and local school 
people concerned are of vital importance. So also are participation 
in voting, P.T.A.’s, and school district matters, such as serving on 
school boards. These are all basic experiences in civic responsi¬ 
bility. 


There are among Indians as well as other groups many under- 
educated men and women who either have lacked educational opportuni¬ 
ties or have not availed themselves of opportunities that have come 
their way. Some of these people may be able to reach their potentiali¬ 
ties through adult education programs which should receive the full 
support of local jurisdictions and schools. 

In the field of health, schools must share responsibility 
with authorized health agencies for bringing sanitation into the 
Indian home and community, and for safeguarding the health of children. 

Higher education is of paramount importance and such pro¬ 
grams merit our continued interest and support. Although scholarship 


20 



programs are increasing, especially among tribes, we see a need for a 
much greater coverage through supplementary resources including 
scholarships from colleges, industry, and other private sources, as 
well as Bureau grants, particularly in areas having no scholarship 
resources of their own. 

The Commissioner’s often-quoted three main objectives are: 
(l) Better Education, (2) Better Health, (3) Economic Betterment. 
Without better education, health and economic betterment will be 
impossible to achieve. 

In closing I should like to quote the conclusions reached 
by the Hoover Committee in its report on Indian Education which reads: 

"The cost of education Indian children will be heavy until 
at least one full generation has been well educated, but the cost of 
not educating them is greater still." 


21 




The Future - What Will It Be Like? 


Henry A. Wall, Director of Schools, Navajo Agency 


Ignorance is a far greater handicap to an individual than 
it was 20 years ago and an uneducated populace is a great handicap 
to a nation. Judging from what the other panel members have stated, 
it seems certain that ignorance will be an even greater handicap in 
the next 15 years during which time changes in the world will be 
taking place with increasing rapidity. 

We can be certain that to live successfully in the future, 
more education than ever before will be needed for each individual 
so that he can develop to the fullest extent possible within the 
framework of our industrialized democratic society. 

Before considering what should be stressed by the schools 
to meet the needs of today and tomorrow, it might be well to list 
some of the knotty problems which have been facing education and for 
which no satisfactory solutions have been found. A few such problems 
follow: 

1. There are not enough classrooms to accommodate the 
children of school age. Many of the existing facili¬ 
ties are inadequate as to size and quality. 

2. There is a great shortage of qualified, competent 
teachers. Classrooms in which there are inferior 
teachers are places merely to keep young people, not 
to educate them. 

The shortage of teachers affects the entire manpower 
situation. There are shortages, too, in the following: 
college teachers, scientific research, engineering, 
executive, supervisory, and health services personnel. 

At the same time there is an under-used potential of 
manpower principally among the following groups: 
illiterates, minorities, women, retired and older 
people. 

3. The problem of dropouts is a pressing one. Only about 
60% of American youth finish high school and a little 
more than one-half of the top 20f% of our high school 
graduates goes to college. A much smaller percent 
finishes college. 


22 




4* There are still children who either do not attend school 
at all or have attended very little. In 1950 there 
were 2j million illiterates in this country and in ad¬ 
dition there were approximately 7 million functionally 
illiterate who had not progressed beyond the fourth 
grade. 

5» Even though, by and large, the present group of young 
people are the best, there is an alarming increase in 
juvenile delinquency. 

6. The schools have not taught effectively enough the wise 
use of leisure, functional civic responsibility, worthy 
home and community membership, and the development of 
moral and spiritual values so important in character 
building. 

We are very proud of the many outstanding accomplishments of 
our schools even though the programs offered have not adequately met 
all the needs of America’s children. 

Certainly the school program must be flexible enough to ad¬ 
just to the needs of this rapidly changing world. The needs of the 
child must determine the kind of program offered. Continuous evalua¬ 
tion will be necessary to determine if the program does what is needed 
for the child. 

In order to successfully meet the challenge of helping to¬ 
day’s children to make their best development for current and future 
living, the following need to be stressed more by the schools: 

1. Fundamental Skills 


Schools should do a better job in teaching the fundamental 
skills of reading, writing, numbers, listening, speaking, and observing 
as basic preparation for any career. These fundamentals need to be 
given more attention also in high schools and colleges. 

2. Motivation 


Many dropouts would not occur if students were made aware of 
the values of the subject matter taught in their present and future 
life. Schools have the responsibility of providing experiences that 
will challenge the brightest as well as will enable the dullest to con¬ 
tribute. Youth must be made to understand that there is a need for 
their services and that they face the challenge of many worthy jobs 
to be done. 




23 




3. Vocational Skills 


The teaching of vocational skills is important. It should 
be remembered, however, that technical and vocational skills are best 
utilized only where other skills of wholesome living are present. 

4* Character Education 

In a democracy every individual has dignity and worth and 
is important. He has an obligation to himself and society to be in¬ 
formed, have emotional health, a balanced outlook, the ability to work 
on a team, to be reliable, have integrity, alertness, and vision. 

Schools must develop a climate that will give these things 
as well as a sense of personal freedom, achievement, belonging, and 
contribution to the group. 

5* Moral and Spiritual Values 

Schools should provide experiences that will give practice 
to moral and spiritual values and help to make them attractive ways 
of life for youth. Such values constitute a primary source of our 
strength as a people and will enable us and our youth to face the 
future, looking forward to its great promise; and will give us the 
confidence and strength to see things through when fears and confu¬ 
sion threaten. 

6. Power to Think 


Educational offerings should stimulate and develop in the 
child the power to think constructively, critically, and creatively. 
These abilities will aid him in his efforts to adjust to the incredibly 
rapid rate of technical and social changes which will occur. 

7. Civic Responsibility 

School programs need to provide opportunities for each child 
to become an effective, loyal, participating citizen. The understand¬ 
ing should be developed that hand-in-hand with the privileges he en¬ 
joys as a member of our democratic society go the responsibilities 
which will perpetuate our way of life. Some of these are: to try to 
see the role of our country in world affairs and his place in the pic¬ 
ture; to demonstrate in his activities that he has a respect for law; 
to realize that it is important that he keep himself informed, that 
he vote in local. State, and national elections; and that he support 
churches, schools, and worthy civic endeavors. 


24 







8 . Wise Use of Leisure 


Schools need to do a better job in preparing students to use 
more wisely their leisure time. Certainly the wise use of leisure will 
be a great problem in the decades ahead. Solving this problem can add 
dimensions of enjoyment and grace to the life of each individual. 

School programs should make available a wide range of activities which 
will make each child a real participant. The activity is especially 
useful if it causes the individual to expand his interests, if it 
develops creativity, and if it can be continued most of his life. 

9« Human Relationships 

The school program should provide activities that will help 
a child to get along better with members of his family and his com¬ 
munity. Every child needs to have some knowledge of homemaking skills, 
to respect the rights of others, to contribute his best efforts toward 
raising and maintaining family standards. He needs to participate in 
the recreational and social life of his community. This will help him 
to make friends and help him to feel that he belongs. Courtesy, co¬ 
operation, and a respect for the rights of others must be a part of 
everyday living if desirable human relationships are to be maintained. 

10. Guidance 


Schools have a responsibility for providing necessary guidance 
for each child. Since every school employee who comes in contact with 
a child has an influence on his development, it is important that in- 
service training in providing guidance services be given to the entire 
school staff. Schools have the mission of helping every pupil to feel 
a sense of responsibility for the fullest possible development and use 
of the talents he has. He needs to feel the challenge that there is 
a great need for his services, that there are many important jobs to 
be done, and that he should choose a vocation suited to his capacities. 
He must be helped to see that the need for decision exists, and be 
helped to meet the occasion as wisely as possible. 

11. Public Relations 


If the schools are to be successful, they must have the full 
support of the communities they serve. The faith of people in the 
school must be renewed. The school personnel should use creative ideas 
in informing their various publics about the fascinating things that 
go on in the school program. School officials should take the lead in 
consulting with parents and lay citizens, thus giving them frequent 
opportunities to share in making decisions concerning the school pro¬ 
gram. When people know what the schools are doing by hearing, seeing, 
and sharing in the making of decisions concerning them, they will find 
their faith justified and renewed. 


25 






12. Adult Education 


In the times that loom ahead, our country cannot afford to 
have any individual under-educated. The schools have a responsibility 
for promoting programs that will offer opportunities for the many 
illiterates and members of minority groups to participate in activi¬ 
ties that will enable them to raise their level, enrich their lives, 
and make them more useful, contributing citizens. 

As we consider all the things the schools should accomplish, 
we are faced with the feeling that it is impossible to teach every¬ 
thing. The problem, then,becomes more one of developing in the learner 
good habits of work and attitudes that will have broad transfer value; 
of teaching the individual how to think and learn; of equipping him 
with the technic for finding answers and solutions to problems not 
yet materialized. 

We can draw comfort and confidence in the words of John 
Von Neumann regarding this rapidly changing world: "Can we produce 
the required adjustments with the necessary speed? The most hopeful 
answer is that the human species has been subjected to similar tests 
before and seems to have the congenital ability to come through, 
after varying amounts of trouble. To ask in advance for a complete 
recipe would be unreasonable. We can specify only the human qualities 
required: patience, flexibility, intelligence. 11 ±J 

In "Indian Education" No. 296, Mrs. Thompson, Chief, Branch 
of Education, wrote as follows: "The education task in this country 
calls for deep and sober thought on the part of everyone. The think¬ 
ing on the part of those of us engaged in the education of Indians 
must be even deeper and more sober. Can we rise to the occasion? 

We not only can - we will." 

Not only will Indian schools successfully meet the challenges 
facing them, but the other schools in the United States will, too. 


l/ Von Neumann, John, "The Fabulous Future," p. 47. 


/ 


26 




Idea Into Action 


Dorothy G. Ellis, Coordinator, Field Technical Section 


Ideas must be bom, developed, and put into action before 
they are of any value. Two of the many programs in the Branch of 
Education are going through these steps. These programs are: (l) 
evaluation of schools; (2) setting up of tentative standards for 
Bureau boarding schools. Although they are seemingly different 
phases of the education program, they are closely interrelated and 
the second was definitely an outgrowth of the first one. 

Evaluations of Schools 


It is impossible to point to any one special time and say 
that the idea of the evaluation of schools was bom. From the be¬ 
ginning of Bureau schools, reports have been made which was a method 
of evaluating a particular phase of the program. These reports 
seldom expressed the opinion of a group. 

In October 1952, a committee of seven made a pilot study 
at the Stewart Boarding School in Nevada. This was an inspectional 
visit rather than an evaluation of the school according to set 
standards. It did, however, cover all phases of the program. 

As a result of this work, in September 1953, a committee 
consisting of Central Office personnel worked -with the superintendent 
and the department heads at Chemawa Boarding School in Oregon in 
setting up points to be covered in evaluating the school. Similar 
evaluations were undertaken in November of that same year at the Fort 
Sill and Riverside schools in Oklahoma. At this time all of the staff 
participated and it became a self evaluation set up as follows: 

(l) Problems; (2) Program to Date; (3) Suggestions for Improvement. 

Follow-up evaluations at Fort Sill and Riverside schools 
in May 1954, were carried on. The discussion at th&t time was 
focused on the progress that had been made under Suggestions for 
Improvement. n 

At this point it was necessary to make definite plans for 
future evaluations. A committee reviewed all of the work done up to 
that time and studied the B.I.A. Manual. Standards for the evaluation 
of schools were set up. Since that time the pattern has changed very 
little. A team made up of members from the Central Office, together 
with the Area and Agency offices work with the local staff in on-the- 
job evaluation of all phases of the school. Under each standard there 


27 




is first a discussion of what is actually being done at the school, 
followed by recommendations from the group of what needs to be im¬ 
proved. A rather detailed report is prepared following the discussion 
and each employee is furnished with a copy. As a final step, after 
a period of time, the local group discusses the recommendations and 
a follow-up report is prepared showing progress that has been made. 

Schools that have had group evaluation to date are as fol¬ 
lows s 

1954 - 55 Fort Sill, Riverside, Chilocco, Eufaula, and Sequoyah 

1955 - 56 Pine Ridge, Flandreau, Standing Rock, Phoenix, Pima 

Day School, and Chemawa 

1956 - 57 Wingate, Pine Ridge Day School, Mt. Edgecumbe, Albu¬ 

querque, and Santa Fe 

Purposes of evaluation are to determine: 

(1) Are we receiving full value for the money spent in Indian Educa¬ 
tion? What is the relationship between money that is appropriated 
and how it is spent? This will provide data for budget justifica¬ 
tion. 

(2) Are Bureau policies being observed? 

(3) Are Bureau objectives being achieved? 

(4) Are Indian children receiving education which will enable them 
to live successfully? 

(5) What are the strong and the weak points of the educational 
program? 

(6) Is the educational program administered in conformity with Civil 
Service regulations and other general government-wide regulations? 

Tentative Standards for Bureau Boarding Schools 

Before an idea can be born, there must be a felt need. The 
evaluation of schools showed that we did not have well-defined standards 
for some phases of the work and, as a result, schools were often fall¬ 
ing short of reaching a standard that had never been clearly stated. 

In an effort to meet this need, standards were prepared cov¬ 
ering the four big phases of boarding school operation: (l) Adminis¬ 
tration; (2) Instructional Program; (3) Guidance and Dormitory; (4) 
Feeding. These were broken down to: (1) Staffing; (2) Equipment and 
Supplies. 


28 



These standards were mineographed and distributed the sum¬ 
mer of 1956. They were reviewed by Area and Agency personnel, then 
returned for further clarification. Every report was carefully 
checked and, wherever possible, suggestions were incorporated. It 
wasn’t possible to use all of the suggestions because some of them 
were local. The tentative standards are now ready for a second re¬ 
view by people who are working closely with the problem. It is hoped 
that they will be reviewed very critically and only the standards 
that are acceptable for a long-range program will be accepted. The 
others should either be enlarged or deleted. 

There is a very definite budget implication in the standards. 
Once they have been clearly defined there comes the question of the 
per capita cost to reach the standard. This involves a study of what 
has been spent in the past and what additional money will be needed 
to bring the different operations up to standard. Because of this, 
anyone receiving the standards should be very certain that they will 
meet the needs of the school. 



Messages from the 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
and 

Area Directors 


30 


UNITED STATES 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS 
Washington 25, D. C. 


May 31, 1957 


Memorandum 

To: Hildegard Thompson, Chief, Branch of Education 

From: Commissioner 

Subject: Attendance at the School Administrators Workshop 

I have reviewed the program for the school administrators * 
session to be held at Intermountain School in June. I would like 
very much to be present at these meetings since that would give me 
an opportunity to become better acquainted with each of the Indian 
leaders and each of the school administrators attending, and at the 
same time give them an opportunity to tell me firsthand about the 
problems they meet in carrying on our educational program at the 
field level. It is with regret, therefore, that I must advise you 
that I cannot attend. I would appreciate it if you would express my 
regrets to the assembled group. 

We have made great strides in education in the past few 
years. I appreciate the efforts of the employees and the coopera¬ 
tion of the Indian people which has made that progress possible. I 
realize also that this achievement could not have been possible 
without the support and teamwork of every individual in the program. 
Will you please convey to the school administrators, and through 
them to the employees who work under their supervision my appreciation 
for their hard day-to-day work that goes into a successful education 
program. Will you also express my gratitude to the Indian leaders 
for the fine cooperation of the Indian people in our education 
efforts. 


I realize that our job is not completed. Now that we have 
broken the back of the out-of-school problem; we must direct our 
planning and efforts toward two major tasks - preventing the piling 
up of new out-of-school backlogs, and bridging the gap between the 
education level of Indians and non-Indians. I am concerned about how 
we can quickly advance the education level of Indians to a level 
commensurate with other citizens of our country. Indians cannot 
adjust and compete in our push-button world with others who have 
twice as much education. I realize too that bridging this educational 
gap between Indians and non-Indians in the face of the language and 
other social roadblocks in the way of Indian people places an added 


31 




burden on schools. I am pleased to note that you will be dealing 
with these problems. I shall look forward to reviewing the recom¬ 
mendations and plans that result from the joint study of these 
problems. 


As you explore together the problems and develop recommenda¬ 
tions for meeting future problems and plans, I would suggest that 
these major ideas be kept in mind: 

First of all, our education plans should be developed in 
terms of the specific needs of each group in recognition of the great 
variation in educational levels from group to group and of individ¬ 
uals within a group. 

Our education plans should aim to advance Indians consist¬ 
ently toward assuming the same educational responsibility for their 
children that is expected and required of other citizens. 

Indians living in and contributing to the economy of a 
community on the same basis as non-Indians are entitled to receive 
educational services for their children in local public schools on 
the same basis as other children with no financial obligation on the 
part of the Bureau. 

Our ultimate goal is educational competency for all Indians 
so that they can participate in the national life equally with other 
citizens. 


In our planning we should not lose sight of the fact that 
all of our educational programs should aim at advancing Indians 
toward this eventual goal as rapidly as greater educational competency 
is acquired by them. 


/s/ Glenn L. Emmons 
Commissioner 


32 


Excerpts from Messages of Area Directors 


M I do strongly feel that our educational programs must 
provide more and more for training of our Indian youth to acquire 
the skills and technical knowledge that are becoming more and more 
needed every year* We are continuously encountering situations 
where Indian workers lack the skills which are necessary in a highly 
technical society* It appears that we must devise means of putting 
more stress into vocational training, either following high school 
or in the upper high school grades. At a recent meeting held here 
in Minnesota which was sponsored by the Governor’s Human Rights Com¬ 
mission for the purpose of discussing Indian affairs in Minnesota, 
it was stressed by one of the State officials the need for Indians 
to acquire those skills which are becoming more and more demanded 
of present day workers. It was, in fact, brought out that Indian 
people are finding it more and more difficult to find permanent em¬ 
ployment opportunities unless they do have the skills and technical 
know-how demanded of present day workers. 1 * 

**We often hear in reference to our Indian people that they 
are between two worlds. The inference is usually made that a person 
is either in the old world or the new world and that he must choose 
one or the other. Perhaps it would be more correct to say that many 
of our Indian people are somewhere in between the two worlds referred 
to and that the points may vary from individual to individual.** 

**It is known that the character of education changes with 
our society. Since we know the world of tomorrow will change from 
the world of today, we know the character of education will change. 
Indian education must keep pace. I foresee that the transfer of 
direct responsibility for Indian education from the Bureau or other 
Federal agency to the public schools will continue and in time there 
will be no special government schools. The need for training in 
fields requiring specialized technical knowledge will increase and 
the education of Indians will not only have to keep pace, but catch 
up with the rest of the population. The needs for liberal education 
cannot be overlooked.** 

.”1 mention the term total education - Indian education in 
the future must be more truly **total education** than ever before. 

Total education applies to all citizens, though we recognize that 
Indian people have in varying degree much catching up to do. In order 
that America continue to exist as a world leader, its citizens must 
be informed and be able to think for themselves. The cold war may 
be with us for decades to come. We cannot afford to relax or become 
complacent. No segment of our population can be overlooked. 

**Yes, we all are between two worlds - yesterday’s and to¬ 
morrow’s. This is even more true for many of our Indian people. The 
key to our readiness in being ready to assume our responsibilities in 
the new world, whether Indian or non-Indian, is total education•” 


33 



"More Indian children than ever before are receiving an 
education in public schools. This increase in school attendance 
in recent years is partially due to a greater desire of the children 
and more encouragement from their parents to obtain a better edu¬ 
cation. It is also brought about by the cooperation of educators. 
State, County, District, and local; and by public laws enacted by 
sympathetic and understanding Congressmen who have aided the dis¬ 
tricts where costs of educating Indian children living on tax-exempt 
lands are greater than can be cared for through normal sources of 
school revenue. 

"In looking ahead to 1980, it is my opinion that we can 
confidently predict that no Bureau of Indian Affairs schools will 
be in operation in the Billings Area and that Indian children gen¬ 
erally will be enrolled in public and parochial schools without 
segregation •" 

"Both Montana and Wyoming are proud of their Indian Edu¬ 
cational programs, and rightly should be, for the records indicate 
that these States through good educational programs are doing much 
toward helping the Indian American to become valuable residents, 
assuming the full responsibilities and sharing the privileges of 
citizenship. 

"Every encouragement will be continued to all eighth grade 
graduates to enroll in high school and to high school graduates to 
enroll in a post high school vocational school or college of their 
choice. Need for higher education will be made a part of the counsel¬ 
ling programs in our District and State contracts in order that every 
Indian boy or girl may know the advantage and privileges of more 
education." 

"It is my conviction that the schools of tomorrow must 
deviate from the present emphasis on teaching of purely academic 
subjects to include the teaching of young men and young women how 
to build character, dignity, a sense of honor, personal pride, and 
self-respect. Then the young men and young women will be better 
able to help develop a finer America for future generations. u 

n We must have faith in the capabilities of our Indian chil¬ 
dren and the Indian people in general. Likewise, we should encourage 
and assist them to have faith in themselves. We nor they should ex¬ 
pect any less or any more than is expected from the general popula¬ 
tion. We should not point to those who are less able or less fortunate 
and say this is the level to expect, nor should we expect all to reach 
the level established by those who might be extremely able and suc¬ 
cessful. Indians are people and we should treat them so. They, in 
turn, should expect to be and act like normal citizens. They must 


34 


recognize that the cultural pattern followed by their parents and 
grandparents may have to undergo some changes where there is a 
direct conflict with patterns under a modern civilization." 

"Is the school program content adequate to meet the needs 
of this group where the community and the home leave much to be de¬ 
sired for meaningful preparation for adult living and this gap must 
be met elsewhere, very largely in the school perhaps, if it is ever 
to be provided at all?" 

"Are school administrators really administering or are 
they dissipating their energies on a lot of unsignificant details 
that someone else on the staff can do as well or even better? Pro¬ 
grams in education or in any other branch of the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs will never attain their full worth until we can get across 
the idea effectively that we as administrators should administer - 
help others to get the job done without our actually physically 
doing the work ourselves*" 


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